Portuguese great Paulo Futre says PSG superstar Lionel Messi's is only the second autograph he's ever asked for after Diego Maradona

Portuguese great Paulo Futre recently said that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi was the second player whom he ever asked for an autograph. The other was Diego Maradona.

Futre is a famous Portuguese star who is most well known for his stint at Atletico Madrid. He played 202 games for the Spanish side, scoring 49 goals.

Messi recently visited Portugal as PSG faced Benfica in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Futre met Lionel Messi before the game and asked the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner for his autograph:

"Modesty aside, I've only seen two southpaws who seemed much better than me. The two Argentines. Diego Maradona was the only player I asked for an autograph for me, when we shared a team in the World Team in 1987. Today, I have asked Leo Messi for the second."

Messi gave his side the lead in the 22nd minute as he curled home a beautiful effort after linking up with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr.

However, Danilo Pereira's own goal in the 41st minute handed Benfica a much-deserved equalizer. The game ended as a draw as the French club dropped their first points of the Champions League campaign. They won their previous two games against Juventus and Maccabi Haifa.

PSG coach Christophe Galtier revealed why he substituted Lionel Messi

PSG superstar Lionel Messi in action against Benfica.

Despite his impressive performance, Lionel Messi was taken off by French coach Christophe Galtier during the tail end of the game against Benfica on Wednesday.

While talking to the media after the game, the French coach revealed that it was the player who signaled him to make the change. Here's what he said (via GOAL):

"He gestured saying he wanted to be substituted. On the last play, he felt tired. He came off because he was tired and a fresh teammate was a lot more interesting at that moment."

Nuno Mendes was also taken off during the game. However, Medes' issue is seemingly much more serious, as Galtier said:

"Regarding Mendes, he had a big muscular incident and he will be out for a few matches.” (via psgtalk)